was a Japanese aviation pioneer who experimented with artificial wings and is considered the first Japanese person to fly. He is also called , , Sakuraya Kōkichi (), Bizen'ya Kōkichi (), or Binkōsai ().

Biography

Ukita was born in 1757 during the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

in Hachihama, Kojima District,

Bizen Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area that is eastern Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of western Japan.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Mimasaka no Kuni''" in . Bizen bordered Bitchū Province, ...

(now Hachihama,

Tamano, Okayama Tamano City Hall Aerial view of Tamano city center Shibukawa beach in Tamano is a city located in southern Okayama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 55,889 in 27087 households, and a population density of 540 person ...

) as the second son of Ukita (or Sakuraya) Seibei (). His father died when Ukita was seven years old, after which he moved to the city of

Okayama is the prefectural capital, capital Cities of Japan, city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The Okayama metropolitan area, centered around the city, has the largest urban employment zone in the Chugoku region of western J ...

and apprenticed to a papermaker (''hyogu-shi,'' a maker of

shōji A is a door, window or room divider used in traditional Japanese architecture, consisting of Transparency and translucency, translucent (or transparent) sheets on a lattice frame. Where light transmission is not needed, the similar but opaq ...

fusuma In Japanese architecture, are vertical rectangular panels which can slide from side to side to redefine spaces within a room, or act as doors. They typically measure about wide by tall, the same size as a ''tatami'' mat, and are thick. The ...

). Interested in how birds fly, Ukita researched and concluded that by "computing the ratio of the wing's surface area to the body weight and using that ratio to create artificial wings, a human, too, will be able to fly like a bird." He used his skill in papermaking to create wings, constructing the delicate ribs from bamboo, covering them with paper and fabric, and varnishing the surface with lacquer from Japanese persimmons. After discarding many prototypes, Ukita attempted to fly from a bridge over the

Asahi River The Asahi River is a river in Okayama Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,826,059 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 7,114 Squa ...

in the summer of 1785. Some references assert that he glided several meters; others that he simply fell. Immediately after his attempt, Ukita was arrested by samurai of the

Okayama Domain 270px, Ikeda Akimasa 270px, Auditorium of the Shizutani School 270px, Kōraku-en was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, in what is now eastern Okayama Prefecture on the island of Honshu. It controlled all of B ...

and exiled from the domain by Lord Ikeda Harumasa ( 池田治政). His contemporary, scholar/poet Kan Sazan ( 菅茶山), referred to this event in his writing. Ukita then moved to the town of Sunpu in

Suruga province was an Provinces of Japan, old province in the area that is today the central part of Shizuoka Prefecture. Suruga bordered on Izu Province, Izu, Kai Province, Kai, Sagami Province, Sagami, Shinano Province, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Province, Tōtōm ...

(now

Shizuoka, Shizuoka is the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, and the prefecture's second-largest city in both population and area. It has been populated since prehistoric times. the city had an estimated population of 677,867 in 106,087 households, and a ...

) and opened a cotton shop under the name Bizen'ya Kōkichi. Once the business was established, he turned the shop over to his nephew and became a dental technician under the name Binkōsai, earning his reputation with excellent dentures. Little is known about his later years. One theory is that Ukita flew again in Sunpu and was executed for the crime of rioting. Another is that Ukita moved to Mitsuke in

Tōtōmi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today western Shizuoka Prefecture.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tōtōmi''" in . Tōtōmi bordered on Mikawa Province, Mikawa, Suruga Province, S ...

(now

Iwata, Shizuoka former Mitsuke School in Iwata is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 169,897 in 68,215 households and a population density was 1,000 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Iwata is ...

), where he quietly spent the rest of his life with his wife and children and died peacefully in 1847 at age 92. His tomb is at Daiken-ji Temple () in Iwata,

Shizuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,555,818 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Pref ...

. His posthumous (Buddhist) name is . Incidentally, Lord Ikeda's descendant, Ikeda Takamasa ( 池田隆政), cancelled the exile order in 1997.

References

* *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ukita, Kokichi 1757 births 1847 deaths Aviation pioneers People from Okayama Prefecture

Biography

See also

References

External links